p.4 #1 · Why I am not switching back to Nikon.. or did I ever leave?
why post your ramblings in the Nikon section? I get it, you switched from Nikon to Canon. I'm not really sure why you think anyone would really care. You might find some interested folks in the Canon forum, but I doubt it.
p.4 #2 · Why I am not switching back to Nikon.. or did I ever leave?
It is telling to read the reactions of this thread. Of course those that take the opportunity to criticize or say something negative are the ones we should have sympathy for. I'm so grateful I'm not one of the ones who see every potential shortcoming of another human being as an attempt to knock them down. of course psychology 101 tells us that is the ego (or lack thereof) of the responder, not the respondee. Just like the bully in gradeschool that must push others down to feel superior, it is the bully we should feel sorry for despite our disdain for his poor attitude.
But back to topic, regarding "the switch", the only comment of the OP I can confirm is the spark that is generated when using a new camera system. I don't know what it is about it, getting back to basics perhaps? Having to get out the manual, or stop and think, "how do I change the aperture?"... And of course the simple excitement of getting out & shooting with a new toy. There is definitely something that happens there for me... Granted there should be other (more affordable) methods to spark creativity. I'm not saying buying new gear is THE BEST way to get that "new photographer's eye wonder" back, but it certainly is one way..
p.4 #3 · Why I am not switching back to Nikon.. or did I ever leave?
I agree Chris when I used to shoot with AF glass I was bored Then I rediscovered MF glass and the spark came back again
Not a dramatic a change as Gregory but one that I did feel. I read lot of threads and never post a negative comment
"To each their own" and I am sure he was expecting comments of all kind
Reagan
Feb 17, 2012 at 03:08 PM
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p.4 #4 · Why I am not switching back to Nikon.. or did I ever leave?
Focus less on gear and more on images. You have great images, that's what matters. I don't care what you used to take them.
Gear matters only in so far as it is technically capable of doing what you want. After that, it's 100% the person behind the lens and the subject in front of it.
I think you said too much. --- Correction --- you use too many words and don't say much. That's where the flack is coming from.
p.4 #5 · Why I am not switching back to Nikon.. or did I ever leave?
I appreciate Chris comments above about the visceral reaction a few folks have had to your words Greg. My reaction is a bit different because I made the switch in the opposite direction before you and I met online after I first discovered Nikon's great MF lenses. Your passion for shooting MF with an amazing assortment of lenses was much inspiring to me. I soon became passionate about them myself. When you left for Canon I was bewildered but knowing that you are a passionate person, I figured it would be foolish of me to either try to change your mind or even figure out all of what was within and behind the decision. At the time you were rather cryptic on the subject.
I've said before that not everything you find worthy of a photo either interests or inspires me. In fact, a few images you posted online were offensive to me. But I never doubted your passion for photography, which at times seemed to me to border on obsessive. Taking photos driving on a freeway in the middle of winter with heavy winds blowing simply doesn't make sense to me. But it is your life.
I was/am curious about your motivation in bringing this particular conversation to this forum. I know in many ways this is much more like home to you than the Canon forum must feel, despite the fact you're shooting with Canon gear. I wonder whether you simply need to remind yourself of the decades you were totally immersed in the world of Nikon. You won't have much interest on a Canon forum photos taken with Nikon gear, any more than I expect Nikon shooters here to be in awe of your shots taken with the EF 85 f/1.2. It is a great lens, but I ultimately sold mine when I finally committed to Nikon. I'm content with the 85 f/1.4D and the 85 f/1.4 AI-s. The Canon lens doesn't mean anything to me, nor does the 5D Mark II, the camera that prompted my switch to Nikon.
I wish you well Gregory and if you need to share your musings on the Nikon forum so be it. But I do understand that those who don't know you might shake their collective heads and call your words self-indulgent. Good luck my cyber friend from the north country.
p.4 #6 · Why I am not switching back to Nikon.. or did I ever leave?
After going through your Smugmug site I can say your earlier work was way more poignant in regards to the punch the colour in your photos had (Slides of course) but your later stuff seems to be missing something compared to the earliers stuff. You were definitely way way more artistic or something back then.
I watched a great program the a couple of years ago that explained how people either become more artistic or less so when they get older. Sometimes people have to work harder to get the results they got when they were younger and vice versa.
Your earlier stuff was more interesting to me. I would love to hear what you think about that.
p.4 #7 · Why I am not switching back to Nikon.. or did I ever leave?
ChrisDM wrote:
...... the only comment of the OP I can confirm is the spark that is generated when using a new camera system. I don't know what it is about it, getting back to basics perhaps? Having to get out the manual, or stop and think, "how do I change the aperture?"... And of course the simple excitement of getting out & shooting with a new toy. There is definitely something that happens there for me... Granted there should be other (more affordable) methods to spark creativity. I'm not saying buying new gear is THE BEST way to get that "new photographer's eye wonder" back, but it certainly is one way.. ...Show more →
p.4 #10 · Why I am not switching back to Nikon.. or did I ever leave?
philipj wrote:
Strange, I was always taught growing up that if I had nothing nice to say, not to say anything at all. Why some people feel the need to post rude or trivial comments is beyond me.
I suppose, it's because some people have bitterness instead empathy in their hearts.
p.4 #13 · Why I am not switching back to Nikon.. or did I ever leave?
NikkorAIS wrote:
So this thread is not about what is better. Because in truth it dosnt really matter to me what kind of camera I got's. I can get pictures with just about anything. ...
.OO And I still say the most important link , the single most important factor is still the photographer and his or hers ability to previsualize the final image. Period.
After about 25 years of taking photos, the last 12 years taking photos daily, I've come to the same conclusion. I once chased the "Hot Camera of the Year" and found it did nothing for me. I was still taking crappy photos. All I got were sharper crappy photos. I now just buy cameras that will cover my basic wants and nothing more. I have pared my lens selection down to a handfull of f2.8 zooms that are versatile and do what I need them to do. I only buy photo gear I have a well identified job for. The slow down in Nikon's introduction of new lenses/cameras over the past two years or so gave me a needed break, not only in time but also in my thinking. In that time I bought a few cheap Kodak cameras such as the Brownie Hawkeye Flash. I had a lot of fun taking photos with it! I also bought a very nice Voigtlander Bessa from 1937 and a Kodak Special No. 1 from 1914. I started shooting 4x5 again and bought a tailboard camera from the 1880s (shot 4x5 film in it.) I bought lenses from the 1850s, 1860s and taught myself how to shoot with them. I can honestly say I'm having just as much, maybe more fun with this historic stuff as I did with modern Nikon gear.
You are correct when you say that really, it all comes down to your ability to previsualize a shot. That's almost the whole the thing about photography. I say almost, because I have come to understand that the single most important thing is learning how to see and use The Light. If you can't recognize Light, understand how to use the Light you are given, and can't previsualize the image in your mind before you even touch a camera, all the expensive state of art gear is not going to help you at all. You will still get boring photos, just very slightly sharper boring photos. Using knowledge of Light and having solid previsualization skills is very liberating. Like you, I can head out the door with any camera or lens ever made and feel confident that I'll be able to make some nice images with whatever it is I brought be it a Kodak Brownie, a state of art Nikon digital, or a lens & camera from 1855 made 15 years after the very beginning of photography. It all starts with the image in my mind.
p.4 #14 · Why I am not switching back to Nikon.. or did I ever leave?
Two23 wrote:
After about 25 years of taking photos, the last 12 years taking photos daily, I've come to the same conclusion. I once chased the "Hot Camera of the Year" and found it did nothing for me. I was still taking crappy photos. All I got were sharper crappy photos. I now just buy cameras that will cover my basic wants and nothing more. I have pared my lens selection down to a handfull of f2.8 zooms that are versatile and do what I need them to do. I only buy photo gear I have a well identified job for. The slow down in Nikon's introduction of new lenses/cameras over the past two years or so gave me a needed break, not only in time but also in my thinking. In that time I bought a few cheap Kodak cameras such as the Brownie Hawkeye Flash. I had a lot of fun taking photos with it! I also bought a very nice Voigtlander Bessa from 1937 and a Kodak Special No. 1 from 1914. I started shooting 4x5 again and bought a tailboard camera from the 1880s (shot 4x5 film in it.) I bought lenses from the 1850s, 1860s and taught myself how to shoot with them. I can honestly say I'm having just as much, maybe more fun with this historic stuff as I did with modern Nikon gear.
You are correct when you say that really, it all comes down to your ability to previsualize a shot. That's almost the whole the thing about photography. I say almost, because I have come to understand that the single most important thing is learning how to see and use The Light. If you can't recognize Light, understand how to use the Light you are given, and can't previsualize the image in your mind before you even touch a camera, all the expensive state of art gear is not going to help you at all. You will still get boring photos, just very slightly sharper boring photos. Using knowledge of Light and having solid previsualization skills is very liberating. Like you, I can head out the door with any camera or lens ever made and feel confident that I'll be able to make some nice images with whatever it is I brought be it a Kodak Brownie, a state of art Nikon digital, or a lens & camera from 1855 made 15 years after the very beginning of photography. It all starts with the image in my mind.
Although I haven't shot as long as either of you two, I find that my best shots are the ones that I previsualize. For whatever reason, if I am not relaxed and able to work that aspect, I find that I am not very happy with the outcome...
p.4 #15 · Why I am not switching back to Nikon.. or did I ever leave?
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and it may be necessary from time to time to give a stupid or misinformed beholder a black eye.
Miss Piggy"
Post what you want to, Gregory. Don't let the trolls get to you.
p.4 #16 · Why I am not switching back to Nikon.. or did I ever leave?
Someone said that being a real man is to know where he is needed the most and I think it can be applied to a passionate photographer, which is to know what tool he/she needs the most so one's soul/conscience is in harmony with.
To me, a camera that requires little or no tweaking in raw, that's just one of my requirements.
) methods to spark creativity. I'm not saying buying new gear is THE BEST way to get that "new photographer's eye wonder" back, but it certainly is one way.. 